AIMIM to Contest Three Assembly Bypolls with Non-Muslim Candidates in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will contest Assembly bypolls on three seats — Muzaffarnagar, Deoband in Saharanpur and Bikapur in Faizabad. AIMIM claims to have formed its unit in over 55 districts of the state.

“Clean image is AIMIM’s first criteria. We will put up a good performance and field only clean candidates,” AIMIM state president Shaukat Ali said. Its zila panchayat member from Azamgarh, Kailash Kumar Gautam, is a Dalit. “We are a political party. We will obviously field non-Muslim candidates as per the situation in the Assembly constituencies. We are not a Muslim party,” Shaukat said.

In the panchayat elections, AIMIM won three seats. The list of victorious candidates includes one Dalit – Kailash Kumar Gautam who won from Azamgarh.

“We have given a respectable performance during the panchayat polls. We were come second at many places. People have given us a good response and now, the time has come for us to move ahead,” he said.